Editor: Raymond Wiens is only partially correct in his letter published in the Aug. 15 edition of the Times. Mr. Wiens, along with most people trying to support these “refugees” entering Canada at unofficial points of entry, seem to forget that under the Safe Third Country Agreement between Canada and the United States, many of these individual are not refugees.
This agreement signed in 2002 and coming into effect in 2004 says that a person must claim refugee status in the first safe country they arrive in. Under the agreement the USA is designated a safe third country. This means that many persons crossing the border between regulated points of entry are in fact crossing the border illegally since they are not refugees. They just haven’t been proven illegal at the time they crossed the border.
The agreement does not apply to US citizens or “stateless persons” but does apply to Mexicans, Nigerians, or any other person who is a citizen of a country other than the USA.
According to the Globe and Mail article, 31,000 people have entered Canada at unregulated points of entry since January 2017. Of the claims dealt with so far, 36 per cent have been deemed not to meet Canada’s criteria for refugee status. If that percent hold for the entire 31,000 then at least 11,160 individuals entered Canada as illegals.
By contrast, over 50,000 persons made refugee claims by the accepted legal method of contacting Canada at a legal point of entry.
Crossing the border into Canada is like any other suspected crime. You are innocent until proven guilty. In the case of these “refugees claimants” over one third are being proven guilty. They may not be illegal as they cross the border but the refugee board is subsequently declaring them illegal.
David Nielsen,
Walnut Grove
